Incident in Afghanistan

There are unconfirmed reports that the Taliban kidnappers have killed another of their South Korean hostages. The whole situation has become a war of cliches:

• The kidnappers blame the government for not releasing Taliban prisoners in exchange for the South Koreans.
• The President of Afghanistan says that kidnapping guests, especially women, is un-Islamic and goes against the rules of Afghan civility.
• The Pope calls the kidnapping a grave violation of human dignity.
• A senior Canadian soldier says it demonstrates how desperate the Taliban is.
• The families of the kidnapped Koreans want their loved ones back.

As usual, the real truth is probably a combination of all of the above, plus other perspectives that I haven't even mentioned.

There is one aspect of the story that nobody seems to be covering, though. The South Korean group went to Afghanistan as missionaries, knowing full-well that it was in the middle of a war. Regardless of what their personal opinions are regarding the legitimacy of that war, I don't think they have any right to put other people in harm's way while trying to assist them.

I regret that one of the hostages has died already, and I hope that the stories of the second death are exaggerated. Should anyone else die -- be they members of the Afghan government forces, Taliban warriors, or members of a NATO army -- the responsibility lies with the hostages themselves. They knew what they were doing was dangerous. Perhaps they had visions of glorious martyrdom, but by putting themselves into danger, they have risked other people's lives.